


Never Be Alone

by HesitantlyHipsterAlien



Category: Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Anxiety Attacks, Bonding, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Flashbacks, Friendship, Guilt, M/M, Nightmares, Parties, References to abuse (with Chase's dad), Semi AU, Some spoilers if you haven't watched the show yet, Swearing, Teens discovering their sexuality, Underage Drinking, Violence may occur, canon character death, life on the run, relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-25
Packaged: 2019-02-28 14:41:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13273608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HesitantlyHipsterAlien/pseuds/HesitantlyHipsterAlien
Summary: The Runaways have to start a new life now. Chase, Alex, Gert, Nico, and Karolina are wanted for kidnapping Molly. Frank betrayed them and revealed their plans to Jonah, and now the kids have no one they can trust but eachother.Still, the teens haven't fully learned their new social dynamic. And some of them need a little more time to start counting on other people again. But, with their own families seeming to have turned against them, they're the only family they've got left. They have a lot to get used to.





	1. Burning Questions

_"Did I do something to make you angry?" She asks, sitting on the edge of the bed a few feet from him. He shakes his head, looking uncomfortably around the room he's probably never going to see again out of this... twilight zone within his subconscious. The one his nightmares usually come from._

_Its been a while since he's seen Amy in here though. Recently it was his dad. Or Darius. Or Andre._

_"Then why didn't you come to see me?" Amy asks. "If you're not angry, why did you leave me Alex?"_

_"We didn't have a choice, Ames..." Alex says, feeling a tightness in his chest and tears in his eyes. "They were gonna arrest us, and take Molly away, and they'd already tried to take Karolina, we had to-"_

_"You hate me then."_

_"What, why would I-"_

_"You didn't come say goodbye. You never came to my grave, Alex. I thought we were friends. You promised you'd come," Amy's voice has started to sound weird at this point. Like multiple voices talking at once. Amy's, layered with Andre's. "Why Alex?" And then Amy's and Andre's with Darius'. "Why Alex?" And then his dad's voice joins. "Why?" And then his mom's. "Why?" and then Niko's and Chase's and Molly's and Gert's and Karolina's. "Why why why?" And then hundred of voices in unison, whispering and wailing and screaming all at once. "WHY ALEX?"_

_"I DON'T KNOW."_

 

Alex isn't sure if he really said that out loud until his eyes adjust to the gray, moonlit interior of the van, and he realizes there are five people staring at him. His chest heaves unevenly, his breathing still wrapped with panic, and there's a familiar sting in his eyes. Apparently he really started crying too.

At first he isn't sure what to say. This is new. Normally when he wakes up from his nightmares, he's all alone. 

A hand settles on his shoulder, at first causing him to flinch away. Then, when he glances back at a wide eyed, worried looking Karolina and he reaches up, squeezing her hand. When he speaks, his voice is hoarse. "Sorry..."

"What the hell was that?" Molly asks. "I mean, I've heard of people having nightmares before but I tried to wake you up and you almost clocked me. Not that it would hurt. I'm kinda stronger than you. No offense."

"None taken. And it was just a nightmare."

"It was clearly more than that," Nico says. "Alex, you just started screaming in your sleep."

"Does that happen really often?" Gert asks, gently setting a hand on his leg. Alex shrugs. She frowns. "When did it start?"

Alex looks away, focusing on a chipped spot in the van's interior. "Like... two?... years ago, just after..." 

"Amy?" Molly blurts out. 

Gert glances to her, frown deepening. "Molly..."

"What?" Molly asks. In the corner, Old Lace, who seems to be the only one Alex didn't wake up, opens one of her yellow eyes. Her tail curls back around Gert and Molly, trying to return them to their place curled against her.

"Hey, why don't we stop with the thirty questions?" Chase says, standing and offering Alex a hand up. "Wilder's in the middle of having an anxiety attack and you're all drilling him on his sleeping habits. Here, Alex, come with me."

Alex takes Chase's hand, standing. Chase wraps an arm around his shoulders, looking to the girls. "Get some sleep. We'll be back."

 

Chase leads Alex out to a ridge, sitting on the edge of it, and wrapping his arm back around Alex's shoulders once he also sits. For awhile they just sit there, staring off at the city lights. The cool air has helped Alex catch his breath, and he doesn't feel like immediately crying anymore. 

"They'll get better at this," Chase says after a moment. "I don't think Molly's ever seen a night terror before. And yeah, her comments are a little tactless but..."

"She's also like fifteen," Alex says. "And, its okay... I'm just... I'm not used to not dealing with that shit alone. Y'know?"

"Yeah, I do," Chase says, surprising Alex. As Alex glances over in question, Chase continues. "I used to have 'em about my dad a lot. Especially when I was struggling with like... classes, 'n' shit. He didn't... take that very well..."

Alex winces sympathetically. After a moment, he carefully reaches his arm around Chase's waist. At first, the blonde looks surprised. Then, he leans in closer.

"So much for Atlas Academy's finest..." Chase murmurs. "Do you think people would push their kids to be like us if they knew about the boatload of mental illnesses that we all ended up with because of the pressures and expectations...?"

"Sometimes I question if they'd actually care...." Alex says. Chase squeezes his shoulder.


	2. Entangled

At first, Alex is confused as to where he is. His head is rest on something soft and warm, but he can feel a rock under his hip and its just starting to become more uncomfortable than irritating. Blinking awake, he's just about to sit up when he has a very sudden realization.

He's staring at Chase's chin. 

He's staring at Chase's chin which means his head is on Chase's lap. And the hand resting on his other hip is Chase's. As are the legs his are apparently tangled with. He's snuggling with Chase Stein. The person who used to be his best friend. Also the person who stopped talking to him for a period of like two years. Also the person who took him out of the van last night when the others' questions were only making his anxiety worse.

He's not sure if he's more confused by how he ended up here or the lack of awkwardness he feels in the situation.

Despite not wanting to pull away from the warmth of this position and expose himself to the chilly morning air, Alex's hip is starting to throb. Carefully, he starts to shift to sit up, only to realize a problem.

His right arm is underneath Chase's head. Meaning, if he moves, he'll wake Chase.

 _God fucking- do I deal with the rock or do I deal with potentially grumpy Chase?_ Alex mentally debates. While the rock is a current problem, grumpy Chase would be an all day problem. And he's not sure he'd have the patience for that.

Before Alex can debate further, Chase's eyes flutter open. Alex freezes, suddenly terrified of how Chase might react. 

Chase seems to take a minute to realize their position. At first, his expression is confused. Then, amusement crosses his face.

"Are you laying on a rock too or just me?" He asks. Alex smirks.

"There's one under my hip," He replies, carefully sitting up at the same time Chase does. Disentangling their legs is a little more difficult than expected, at one point Alex's shoe gets caught on Chase's, and he ends up having to sit off to one side awkwardly as Chase figures out what the hell is tangled where. Finally, they're both freed, and Alex carefully stands, wincing at the soreness in his hip.

"That's one way to start a morning," Chase says, standing. Seeing Alex wince, he frowns, gently moving to check that he didn't end up with a bruise. The sudden sensation of Chase's fingertips makes Alex jump. Chase's expression quickly becomes concerned. "Shit, did that hurt?"

"No, sorry, I-" Alex stammers, feeling heat rushing to his cheeks. "It startled me is all..."

Chase looks at Alex for a moment. Then, he smirks. "Alex, are you ticklish?"

"What does that have to do with-" Alex doesn't get much further than that before the fingertips glide ever-so-gently across his hip once more, inciting a startled squeak from him. He tries to glare at Chase but it falters because yes, in fact, he is very much ticklish, and its hard to glare when you're laughing. 

Alex tries to shove Chase back, planning on turning and running for the van, but instead he finds himself pulled down on top of the beautiful blonde boy. For a moment, time seems to freeze as they lay on the ground, chest to chest. Alex's thoughts trail to the night before. To Chase's arm around his shoulders, and Chase's hand in his. 

Standing quickly, suddenly blushing quite a lot for reasons he's not entirely certain of, Alex speaks. "We should get back to the others."

Chase sits up, frowning slightly, confused as to what just happened, but he nods and stands, following a few steps behind Alex as they walk back.


End file.
